FastCGI#

Allows passing requests to a FastCGI server.

When building from the source code, the module is built by default; it can be disabled with the build option --without-http_fastcgi_module.

In packages and images from our repositories, the module is included in the build.

Related guides

Connection Handling: routes PHP requests to FastCGI.
Configuring ACME: FastCGI and PHP-FPM hook examples.
Console Light Web Panel: cache zones fill the Caches tab.

Configuration Example#

location / {
    fastcgi_pass  localhost:9000;
    fastcgi_index index.php;

    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /home/www/scripts/php$fastcgi_script_name;
    fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING    $query_string;
    fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD  $request_method;
    fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE    $content_type;
    fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH  $content_length;
}

Directives#

fastcgi_bind#

Syntax	`fastcgi_bind` address [`transparent`] \| `off`;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Makes outgoing connections to a FastCGI server originate from the specified local IP address with an optional port. Parameter value can contain variables. The special value off cancels the effect of the fastcgi_bind directive inherited from the previous configuration level, which allows the system to auto-assign the local IP address and port.

By default, this value is evaluated once when the request is initialized, before a FastCGI server is selected. In Angie PRO, evaluation happens after each FastCGI server selection (including retries), so the bind address can depend on the selected server; for example, via the $upstream_current_addr variable. If the evaluated value is empty, no binding is made.

The transparent parameter allows outgoing connections to a FastCGI server originate from a non-local IP address, for example, from a real IP address of a client:

fastcgi_bind $remote_addr transparent;

For this parameter to work, Angie worker processes usually need to run with superuser privileges. On Linux, this is not required: if the transparent parameter is specified, worker processes inherit the CAP_NET_RAW capability from the master process.

Note

The kernel routing table should also be configured to intercept network traffic from the FastCGI server.

fastcgi_buffer_size#

Syntax	`fastcgi_buffer_size` size;
Default	`fastcgi_buffer_size 4k\|8k;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets the size of the buffer used for reading the first part of the response received from the FastCGI server. This part usually contains a small response header. By default, the buffer size is equal to one memory page. This is either 4K or 8K, depending on a platform. It can be made smaller, however.

fastcgi_buffering#

Syntax	`fastcgi_buffering` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_buffering on;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables or disables buffering of responses from the FastCGI server.

on

Angie sends the response to the client in parallel with reading it from the FastCGI server; the client does not wait for the whole response. The response is read into the buffers set by the fastcgi_buffer_size and fastcgi_buffers directives. A buffer is passed for sending once it is completely filled, and the total size of the buffers busy sending is limited by fastcgi_busy_buffers_size. A partially filled buffer waits until it fills up or the response ends, so data normally reaches the client in whole buffers. Responses that must reach the client as they are produced therefore need off. Part of the response is written to a temporary file on disk when all buffers are full and the client reads slower than the FastCGI server sends. Responses that are cached or stored on disk always pass through a temporary file. Writing to temporary files is controlled by the fastcgi_max_temp_file_size and fastcgi_temp_file_write_size directives. Buffering frees the FastCGI server as soon as that server has sent its whole response, instead of holding the connection to it for as long as a slow client takes to read.

off

Every portion of data read from the FastCGI server is passed to the client immediately, with no minimum size: 10 bytes read from a 4K buffer are sent right away. Angie uses a single buffer, set by the fastcgi_buffer_size directive, so it reads no more than that size at a time. No temporary file is used, so responses are neither cached nor stored on disk, and neither fastcgi_limit_rate nor limit_rate has any effect. off suits responses that must reach the client as they are produced: Server-Sent Events, long polling, and streaming.

Buffering can also be enabled or disabled by passing "yes" or "no" in the X-Accel-Buffering response header field. This capability can be disabled using the fastcgi_ignore_headers directive.

fastcgi_buffers#

Syntax	`fastcgi_buffers` number size;
Default	`fastcgi_buffers 8 4k\|8k;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets the number and size of the buffers used for reading a response from the FastCGI server, for a single connection.

By default, the buffer size is equal to one memory page. This is either 4K or 8K, depending on a platform.

fastcgi_busy_buffers_size#

Syntax	`fastcgi_busy_buffers_size` size;
Default	`fastcgi_busy_buffers_size 8k\|16k;`
Context	http, server, location

When buffering of responses from the FastCGI server is enabled, limits the total size of buffers that can be busy sending a response to the client while the response is not yet fully read. In the meantime, the rest of the buffers can be used for reading the response and, if needed, buffering part of the response to a temporary file.

By default, size is limited by the size of two buffers set by the fastcgi_buffer_size and fastcgi_buffers directives.

fastcgi_cache#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache` zone \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_cache off;`
Context	http, server, location

Defines a shared memory zone used for caching. The same zone can be used in several places. Parameter value can contain variables. The off parameter disables caching inherited from the previous configuration level.

Note

When using fastcgi_cache, you typically need to also set the fastcgi_cache_valid directive to explicitly specify the caching time for responses. If it's not set, Angie doesn't use default values but determines the response caching time based on HTTP response headers from the server in the following priority order:

The X-Accel-Expires header (highest priority).
The Cache-Control header with max-age or s-maxage parameters.
The Expires header.

If none of these headers contain valid values or are not present at all, the response will not be cached because its expiration time cannot be determined.

fastcgi_cache_background_update#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_background_update` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_background_update off;`
Context	http, server, location

Allows starting a background subrequest to update an expired cache item, while a stale cached response is returned to the client. Note that it is necessary to allow the usage of a stale cached response when it is being updated.

fastcgi_cache_bypass#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_bypass` string ...;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Defines conditions under which the response will not be taken from a cache. If at least one value of the string parameters is not empty and is not equal to "0" then the response will not be taken from the cache:

fastcgi_cache_bypass $cookie_nocache $arg_nocache$arg_comment;
fastcgi_cache_bypass $http_pragma    $http_authorization;

Parameter values can contain variables.

Can be used together with the fastcgi_no_cache directive.

fastcgi_cache_key#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_key` string;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Defines a key for caching. The key can contain variables. For example

fastcgi_cache_key localhost:9000$request_uri;

fastcgi_cache_lock#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_lock` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_lock off;`
Context	http, server, location

When enabled, only one request at a time will be allowed to populate a new cache element identified according to the fastcgi_cache_key directive by passing a request to a FastCGI server. Other requests of the same cache element will either wait for a response to appear in the cache or the cache lock for this element to be released, up to the time set by the fastcgi_cache_lock_timeout directive.

fastcgi_cache_lock_age#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_lock_age` time;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_lock_age 5s;`
Context	http, server, location

If the last request passed to the FastCGI server for populating a new cache element has not completed for the specified time, one more request may be passed to the FastCGI server.

fastcgi_cache_lock_timeout#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_lock_timeout` time;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_lock_timeout 5s;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets a timeout for fastcgi_cache_lock. When the time expires, the request will be passed to the FastCGI server, however, the response will not be cached.

fastcgi_cache_max_range_offset#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_max_range_offset` number;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Sets an offset in bytes for byte-range requests. If the range is beyond the offset, the range request will be passed to the FastCGI server and the response will not be cached.

fastcgi_cache_methods#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_methods` `GET` \| `HEAD` \| `POST` ...;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_methods GET HEAD;`
Context	http, server, location

If the client request method is listed in this directive then the response will be cached. "GET" and "HEAD" methods are always added to the list, though it is recommended to specify them explicitly. See also the fastcgi_no_cache directive.

fastcgi_cache_min_uses#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_min_uses` number;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_min_uses 1;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets the number of requests after which the response will be cached.

Warning

Cache metadata is stored in shared memory. Manually deleting cache files does not reset the counters and may lead to unpredictable behavior. To completely reset the cache, stop the server, delete the cache directory, and start again.

Note

Third-party cache purge modules (e.g., Cache Purge) only delete files but do not reset the fastcgi_cache_min_uses counter. The directive is intended to protect the cache from pollution by infrequent requests, and resetting the counter on purge may negatively affect performance.

fastcgi_cache_path#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_path` path [`levels=`levels] [`use_temp_path=on` \| `off`] `keys_zone=`name:size[:`file=`file] [`inactive=`time] [`max_size=`size] [`min_free=`size] [`manager_files=`number] [`manager_sleep=`time] [`manager_threshold=`time] [`loader_files=`number] [`loader_sleep=`time] [`loader_threshold=`time];
Default	—
Context	http

Sets the path and other parameters of a cache. Cache data are stored in files. Both the key and file name in a cache are a result of applying the MD5 function to the proxied URL.

levels

defines hierarchy levels of a cache: from 1 to 3, each level accepts values 1 or 2.

For example, in the following configuration:

fastcgi_cache_path /data/angie/cache levels=1:2 keys_zone=one:10m;

file names in a cache will look like this:

/data/angie/cache/c/29/b7f54b2df7773722d382f4809d65029c

A cached response is first written to a temporary file, and then the file is renamed. Temporary files and the cache can be put on different file systems. However, be aware that in this case a file is copied across two file systems instead of the cheap renaming operation. It is thus recommended that for any given location both cache and a directory holding temporary files are put on the same file system.

`use_temp_path=on` \| `off`	determines the directory to be used for temporary files
`on`	If the parameter is not specified or set to `on`, the directory specified by the fastcgi_temp_path directive for the given location will be used
`off`	temporary files will be placed directly in the cache directory
`keys_zone`	Sets the name and size of the shared memory zone for storing all active keys and information about data. Cache metadata is stored in shared memory. The zone size is specified in bytes and must be at least two system memory pages. The `k` and `m` suffixes are also accepted; unlike `max_size`, this parameter does not accept `g`. A zone of 1 megabyte is sufficient to store about 8000 keys. When an optional file is specified with `keys_zone`, Angie dumps the contents of this zone to disk when the main process terminates and attempts to restore it at the same memory address on the next startup or after binary upgrade, to ensure more reliable data persistence and reduce cache loading time. If the file has incompatible content, for example because an incompatible build wrote it, Angie renames it with the `.old` suffix, logs `discarded due to incompatible content`, and creates the zone anew. The cache loader then fills the zone from the cache directory, as on a start without the file, so cached responses are not lost. You can either delete the renamed file, or restore its name and revert Angie to the configuration and version in which this file was originally created. If the zone size in the configuration no longer matches the size saved in the file, the configuration fails to load until the file is removed or the original size is restored. The configuration also fails to load if the zone cannot be mapped at the memory address saved in the file: Angie logs `mmap(MAP_ANON\|MAP_SHARED, ...) failed` if that address is already in use, or `failed to restore zone at address` if the operating system maps the zone at a different address. Warning Make sure the path to the file is specified correctly and has the necessary access permissions for Angie to use, and is protected from unauthorized access; relative paths are based on the prefix.
`inactive`	If cached data is not accessed within the time set by this parameter, it is removed, regardless of its freshness; each access resets this timer. This differs from the size-based eviction performed by the cache manager described below: inactivity-based removal applies even when the cache is below `max_size`, and it ignores the validity periods configured with fastcgi_cache_valid. By default, `inactive` is 10 minutes.

A special cache manager process monitors the maximum cache size, and the minimum amount of free space on the file system with cache. When the size is exceeded or there is not enough free space, it removes the least recently used data. The data is removed in iterations.

`max_size`	maximum threshold value for cache size The value is specified in bytes; the `k`, `m`, and `g` suffixes are also accepted. By default, the cache size is not limited.
`min_free`	minimum threshold value for free space on the file system with cache The value is specified in the same units as `max_size`. The default value `0` disables free space monitoring. On platforms that do not support querying file system statistics, the parameter is ignored, and Angie logs the warning `min_free is not supported on this platform, ignored`.
`manager_files`	limits the number of items to be deleted during one iteration By default, `100`.
`manager_threshold`	limits the duration of one iteration By default, `200` milliseconds
`manager_sleep`	configures a pause between iterations By default, `50` milliseconds

A minute after Angie starts, the special cache loader process is activated. It loads information about previously cached data stored on file system into a cache zone. The loading is also done in iterations.

loader_files

maximum number of cache items to load in one iteration

Default: 100

loader_threshold

limits the time of one iteration

Default: 200 milliseconds

loader_sleep

time for which a pause is maintained between iterations

Default: 50 milliseconds

fastcgi_cache_revalidate#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_revalidate` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_revalidate off;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables revalidation of expired cache items using conditional requests with the If-Modified-Since and If-None-Match header fields.

fastcgi_cache_use_stale#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_use_stale` `error` \| `timeout` \| `invalid_header` \| `updating` \| `http_500` \| `http_503` \| `http_403` \| `http_404` \| `http_429` \| `non_idempotent` \| `off` ...;
Default	`fastcgi_cache_use_stale off;`
Context	http, server, location

Determines in which cases a stale cached response can be used. The directive's parameters match the parameters of the fastcgi_next_upstream directive.

`error`	permits using a stale cached response if a FastCGI server cannot be selected for processing a request.
`updating`	an additional parameter that permits using a stale cached response if it is currently being updated. This allows minimizing the number of accesses to FastCGI servers when updating cached data.
`non_idempotent`	permits using a stale cached response if a request with a non-idempotent method has already been sent to a FastCGI server and communication with that server then fails for any reason; of the non-idempotent methods only `POST` can be cached, and fastcgi_cache_methods must enable it.

The use of a stale cached response can also be permitted directly in the response header for a specified number of seconds after the response became stale.

The stale-while-revalidate extension of the Cache-Control header field permits using a stale cached response if it is currently being updated.
The stale-if-error extension of the Cache-Control header field permits using a stale cached response in case of an error.

Note

This method has lower priority than setting the directive parameters.

To minimize the number of accesses to FastCGI servers when populating a new cache element, the fastcgi_cache_lock directive can be used.

fastcgi_cache_valid#

Syntax	`fastcgi_cache_valid` [code ... \| `any`] time;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Sets caching time for different response codes. For example, the following directives

fastcgi_cache_valid 200 302 10m;
fastcgi_cache_valid 404      1m;

set 10 minutes of caching for responses with codes 200 and 302 and 1 minute for responses with code 404.

If only caching time is specified,

fastcgi_cache_valid 5m;

then only 200, 301, and 302 responses are cached.

In addition, it can be specified to cache any responses using the any parameter:

fastcgi_cache_valid 200 302 10m;
fastcgi_cache_valid 301      1h;
fastcgi_cache_valid any      1m;

Note

Parameters of caching can also be set directly in the response header. This has higher priority than setting of caching time using the directive.

The X-Accel-Expires header field sets caching time of a response in seconds. The zero value disables caching for a response. If the value starts with the @ prefix, it sets an absolute time in seconds since Epoch, up to which the response may be cached.
If the header does not include the X-Accel-Expires field, parameters of caching may be set in the header fields Expires or Cache-Control.
If the header includes the Set-Cookie field, such a response will not be cached.
If the header includes the Vary field with the special value "*", such a response will not be cached. If the header includes the Vary field with another value, such a response will be cached taking into account the corresponding request header fields.

Processing of one or more of these response header fields can be disabled using the fastcgi_ignore_headers directive.

fastcgi_catch_stderr#

Syntax	`fastcgi_catch_stderr` string;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Sets a string to search for in the error stream of a response received from a FastCGI server. If the string is found then it is considered that the FastCGI server has returned an invalid response. This allows handling application errors in Angie, for example:

location /php/ {
    fastcgi_pass backend:9000;
    ...
    fastcgi_catch_stderr "PHP Fatal error";
    fastcgi_next_upstream error timeout invalid_header;
}

fastcgi_connect_timeout#

Syntax	`fastcgi_connect_timeout` time;
Default	`fastcgi_connect_timeout 60s;`
Context	http, server, location

Defines a timeout for establishing a connection with a FastCGI server. It should be noted that this timeout cannot usually exceed 75 seconds.

Note

This timeout does not govern idle connections: how long an already-open one is kept for reuse is set by keepalive_timeout in an upstream block whose connections are cached with keepalive. FastCGI connections are cached only with fastcgi_keep_conn enabled.

fastcgi_connection_drop#

Syntax	`fastcgi_connection_drop` time \| `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_connection_drop off;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables termination of all active connections to the proxied server after it has been removed from the group or marked as permanently unavailable by a reresolve process or the API command DELETE. Idle connections in the cache are not affected.

A connection is terminated when the next read or write event is processed for either the client or the proxied server.

Setting time enables a connection termination timeout; with on set, connections are dropped immediately.

fastcgi_force_ranges#

Syntax	`fastcgi_force_ranges` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_force_ranges off;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables byte-range support for both cached and uncached responses from the FastCGI server regardless of the Accept-Ranges field in these responses.

fastcgi_hide_header#

Syntax	`fastcgi_hide_header` field;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

By default, Angie does not pass the header fields Status and X-Accel-... from the response of a FastCGI server to a client. The fastcgi_hide_header directive sets additional fields that will not be passed. If, on the contrary, the passing of fields needs to be permitted, the fastcgi_pass_header directive can be used.

fastcgi_ignore_client_abort#

Syntax	`fastcgi_ignore_client_abort` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_ignore_client_abort off;`
Context	http, server, location

Determines whether the connection with a FastCGI server should be closed when a client closes the connection without waiting for a response.

fastcgi_ignore_headers#

Syntax	`fastcgi_ignore_headers` field;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Disables processing of certain response header fields from the FastCGI server. The following fields can be ignored: X-Accel-Redirect, X-Accel-Expires, X-Accel-Limit-Rate, X-Accel-Buffering, X-Accel-Charset, Expires, Cache-Control, Set-Cookie, and Vary.

If not disabled, processing of these header fields has the following effect:

X-Accel-Expires, Expires, Cache-Control, Set-Cookie, and Vary set the parameters of response caching;
X-Accel-Redirect performs an internal redirect to the specified URI or named location;
X-Accel-Limit-Rate sets the rate limit for transmission of a response to a client;
X-Accel-Buffering enables or disables buffering of a response;
X-Accel-Charset sets the desired charset of a response.

fastcgi_index#

Syntax	`fastcgi_index` name;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Sets a file name that will be appended after a URI that ends with a slash, in the value of the $fastcgi_script_name variable. For example, with these settings

fastcgi_index index.php;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /home/www/scripts/php$fastcgi_script_name;

and the /page.php request, the SCRIPT_FILENAME parameter will be equal to /home/www/scripts/php/page.php, and with the / request it will be equal to /home/www/scripts/php/index.php.

fastcgi_intercept_errors#

Syntax	`fastcgi_intercept_errors` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_intercept_errors off;`
Context	http, server, location

Determines whether FastCGI server responses with codes greater than or equal to 300 should be passed to a client or be intercepted and redirected to Angie for processing with the error_page directive.

fastcgi_keep_conn#

Syntax	`fastcgi_keep_conn` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_keep_conn off;`
Context	http, server, location

By default, a FastCGI server will close a connection right after sending the response. However, when this directive is set to the value on, Angie will instruct a FastCGI server to keep connections open. This is necessary, in particular, for keepalive connections to FastCGI servers to function.

fastcgi_limit_rate#

Syntax	`fastcgi_limit_rate` rate;
Default	`fastcgi_limit_rate 0;`
Context	http, server, location

Limits the speed of reading the response from the FastCGI server. The rate is specified in bytes per second and can contain variables.

`0`	disables rate limiting

Note

The limit is set per a request, and so if Angie simultaneously opens two connections to the FastCGI server, the overall rate will be twice as much as the specified limit. The limitation works only if buffering of responses from the FastCGI server is enabled.

fastcgi_max_temp_file_size#

Syntax	`fastcgi_max_temp_file_size` size;
Default	`fastcgi_max_temp_file_size 1024m;`
Context	http, server, location

When buffering of responses from the FastCGI server is enabled, and the entire response does not fit into the buffers set by the fastcgi_buffer_size and fastcgi_buffers directives, a part of the response can be saved to a temporary file. This directive sets the maximum size of the temporary file. The size of data written to the temporary file at a time is set by the fastcgi_temp_file_write_size directive.

`0`	disables buffering of responses to temporary files

Note

This restriction does not apply to responses that will be cached or stored on disk.

fastcgi_next_upstream#

Syntax	`fastcgi_next_upstream` `error` \| `timeout` \| `invalid_header` \| `http_500` \| `http_503` \| `http_403` \| `http_404` \| `http_429` \| `non_idempotent` \| `off` ...;
Default	`fastcgi_next_upstream error timeout;`
Context	http, server, location

Specifies in which cases a request should be passed to the next server:

`error`	an error occurred while establishing a connection with the server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
`timeout`	a timeout has occurred while establishing a connection with the server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
`invalid_header`	a server returned an empty or invalid response;
`http_500`	a server returned a response with the code 500;
`http_503`	a server returned a response with the code 503;
`http_403`	a server returned a response with the code 403;
`http_404`	a server returned a response with the code 404;
`http_429`	a server returned a response with the code 429;
`non_idempotent`	normally, requests with a non-idempotent method (`POST`, `LOCK`, `PATCH`) are not passed to the next server if a request has been sent to an upstream server; enabling this option explicitly allows retrying such requests;
`off`	disables passing a request to the next server.

Note

One should bear in mind that passing a request to the next server is only possible if nothing has been sent to a client yet. That is, if an error or timeout occurs in the middle of the transferring of a response, fixing this is impossible.

The directive also defines what is considered an unsuccessful attempt of communication with a server.

error

timeout

invalid_header

always considered unsuccessful attempts, even if they are not specified in the directive

http_500

http_503

http_429

considered unsuccessful attempts only if they are specified in the directive

http_403

http_404

never considered unsuccessful attempts

Passing a request to the next server can be limited by the number of tries and by time.

fastcgi_next_upstream_timeout#

Syntax	`fastcgi_next_upstream_timeout` time;
Default	`fastcgi_next_upstream_timeout 0;`
Context	http, server, location

Limits the time during which a request can be passed to the next server.

`0`	turns off this limitation

fastcgi_next_upstream_tries#

Syntax	`fastcgi_next_upstream_tries` number;
Default	`fastcgi_next_upstream_tries 0;`
Context	http, server, location

Limits the number of possible tries for passing a request to the next server.

`0`	turns off this limitation

fastcgi_no_cache#

Syntax	`fastcgi_no_cache` string ...;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Defines conditions under which the response will not be saved to a cache. If at least one value of the string parameters is not empty and is not equal to "0" then the response will not be saved:

fastcgi_no_cache $cookie_nocache $arg_nocache$arg_comment;
fastcgi_no_cache $http_pragma    $http_authorization;

Parameter values can contain variables.

Can be used along with the fastcgi_cache_bypass directive.

fastcgi_param#

Syntax	`fastcgi_param` parameter value [`if_not_empty`];
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Sets a parameter that should be passed to the FastCGI server. The value can contain variables. These directives are inherited from the previous configuration level if and only if there are no fastcgi_param directives defined on the current level.

Note

In the standard fastcgi.conf and fastcgi_params files shipped with Angie, REQUEST_METHOD is set to $upstream_request_method. This ensures that when caching converts HEAD to GET, the upstream request method reflects that conversion.

The following example shows the minimum required settings for PHP:

fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /home/www/scripts/php$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param QUERY_STRING    $query_string;

The SCRIPT_FILENAME parameter is used in PHP for determining the script name, and the QUERY_STRING parameter is used to pass request parameters.

For scripts that process POST requests, the following three parameters are also required:

fastcgi_param REQUEST_METHOD  $request_method;
fastcgi_param CONTENT_TYPE    $content_type;
fastcgi_param CONTENT_LENGTH  $content_length;

If PHP was built with the --enable-force-cgi-redirect configuration parameter, the REDIRECT_STATUS parameter should also be passed with the value "200":

fastcgi_param REDIRECT_STATUS 200;

If the directive is specified with if_not_empty then such a parameter will be passed to the server only if its value is not empty:

fastcgi_param HTTPS           $https if_not_empty;

fastcgi_pass#

Syntax	`fastcgi_pass` address;
Default	—
Context	location, if in location

Sets the address of a FastCGI server. The address can be specified as a domain name or IP address, and a port:

fastcgi_pass localhost:9000;

or as a UNIX-domain socket path:

fastcgi_pass unix:/tmp/fastcgi.socket;

If a domain name resolves to several addresses, all of them will be used in a round-robin fashion. In addition, an address can be specified as a server group.

Parameter value can contain variables. In this case, if an address is specified as a domain name, the name is searched among the described server groups, and, if not found, is determined using a resolver.

Note

If fastcgi_pass is placed in a location whose prefix ends with a slash (for example, location /name/), and the auto_redirect directive is set to default, requests without a trailing slash will be redirected (/name -> /name/).

fastcgi_pass_header#

Syntax	`fastcgi_pass_header` field;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Permits passing otherwise disabled header fields from a FastCGI server to a client.

fastcgi_pass_request_body#

Syntax	`fastcgi_pass_request_body` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_pass_request_body on;`
Context	http, server, location

Indicates whether the original request body is passed to the FastCGI server. See also the fastcgi_pass_request_headers directive.

fastcgi_pass_request_headers#

Syntax	`fastcgi_pass_request_headers` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_pass_request_headers on;`
Context	http, server, location

Indicates whether the header fields of the original request are passed to the FastCGI server. See also the fastcgi_pass_request_body directive.

fastcgi_read_timeout#

Syntax	`fastcgi_read_timeout` time;
Default	`fastcgi_read_timeout 60s;`
Context	http, server, location

Defines a timeout for reading a response from the FastCGI server. The timeout is set only between two successive read operations, not for the transmission of the whole response. If the FastCGI server does not transmit anything within this time, the connection is closed.

fastcgi_request_buffering#

Syntax	`fastcgi_request_buffering` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_request_buffering on;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables or disables buffering of a client request body.

`on`	the entire request body is read from the client before sending the request to a FastCGI server.
`off`	the request body is sent to the FastCGI server immediately as it is received. In this case, the request cannot be passed to the next server if Angie already started sending the request body.

fastcgi_send_lowat#

Syntax	`fastcgi_send_lowat` size;
Default	`fastcgi_send_lowat 0;`
Context	http, server, location

If the directive is set to a non-zero value, Angie will try to minimize the number of send operations on outgoing connections to a FastCGI server by using either NOTE_LOWAT flag of the kqueue method, or the SO_SNDLOWAT socket option, with the specified size.

Note

This directive is ignored on Linux, Solaris, and Windows.

fastcgi_send_timeout#

Syntax	`fastcgi_send_timeout` time;
Default	`fastcgi_send_timeout 60s;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets a timeout for transmitting a request to the FastCGI server. The timeout is set only between two successive write operations, not for the transmission of the whole request. If the FastCGI server does not receive anything within this time, the connection is closed.

fastcgi_socket_keepalive#

Syntax	`fastcgi_socket_keepalive` `on` \| `off`;
Default	`fastcgi_socket_keepalive off;`
Context	http, server, location

Configures the "TCP keepalive" behavior for outgoing connections to a FastCGI server.

`off`	By default, the operating system's settings are in effect for the socket.
`on`	the SO_KEEPALIVE socket option is turned on for the socket.

fastcgi_split_path_info#

Syntax	`fastcgi_split_path_info` regex;
Default	—
Context	http, server, location

Defines a regular expression that captures a value for the $fastcgi_path_info variable. The regular expression should have two captures: the first becomes a value of the $fastcgi_script_name variable, the second becomes a value of the $fastcgi_path_info variable. For example, with these settings

location ~ ^(.+\.php)(.*)$ {
    fastcgi_split_path_info       ^(.+\.php)(.*)$;
    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /path/to/php$fastcgi_script_name;
    fastcgi_param PATH_INFO       $fastcgi_path_info;
}

and the /show.php/article/0001 request, the SCRIPT_FILENAME parameter will be equal to /path/to/php/show.php, and the PATH_INFO parameter will be equal to /article/0001.

fastcgi_store#

Syntax	`fastcgi_store` `on` \| `off` \| string;
Default	`fastcgi_store off;`
Context	http, server, location

Enables saving of files to a disk.

`on`	saves files with paths corresponding to the directives alias or root.
`off`	disables saving of files

In addition, the file name can be set explicitly using the string with variables:

fastcgi_store /data/www$original_uri;

The modification time of files is set according to the received Last-Modified response header field. The response is first written to a temporary file, and then the file is renamed. Temporary files and the persistent store can be put on different file systems. However, be aware that in this case a file is copied across two file systems instead of the cheap renaming operation. It is thus recommended that for any given location both saved files and a directory holding temporary files, set by the fastcgi_temp_path directive, are put on the same file system.

This directive can be used to create local copies of static unchangeable files, e.g.:

location /images/ {
    root                 /data/www;
    error_page           404 = /fetch$uri;
}

location /fetch/ {
    internal;

    fastcgi_pass         backend:9000;
    ...

    fastcgi_store        on;
    fastcgi_store_access user:rw group:rw all:r;
    fastcgi_temp_path    /data/temp;

    alias                /data/www/;
}

fastcgi_store_access#

Syntax	`fastcgi_store_access` users:permissions [users:permissions] [users:permissions];
Default	`fastcgi_store_access user:rw;`
Context	http, server, location

Sets access permissions for newly created files and directories, e.g.:

fastcgi_store_access user:rw group:rw all:r;

If any group or all access permissions are specified then user permissions may be omitted:

fastcgi_store_access group:rw all:r;

fastcgi_temp_file_write_size#

Syntax	`fastcgi_temp_file_write_size` size;
Default	`fastcgi_temp_file_write_size 8k\|16k;`
Context	http, server, location

Limits the size of data written to a temporary file at a time, when buffering of responses from the FastCGI server to temporary files is enabled. By default, size is limited by two buffers set by the fastcgi_buffer_size and fastcgi_buffers directives. The maximum size of a temporary file is set by the fastcgi_max_temp_file_size directive.

fastcgi_temp_path#

Syntax	`fastcgi_temp_path` path [level1 [level2 [level3]]];
Default	`fastcgi_temp_path fastcgi_temp;` (the path depends on the `--http-fastcgi-temp-path` build parameter)
Context	http, server, location

Defines a directory for storing temporary files with data received from FastCGI servers. Up to three-level subdirectory hierarchy can be used under the specified directory. For example, in the following configuration

fastcgi_temp_path /spool/angie/fastcgi_temp 1 2;

a temporary file might look like this:

/spool/angie/fastcgi_temp/7/45/00000123457

See also the use_temp_path parameter of the fastcgi_cache_path directive.

Parameters Passed to a FastCGI Server#

HTTP request header fields are passed to a FastCGI server as parameters. In applications and scripts run as FastCGI servers, these parameters are usually available as environment variables. For example, the User-Agent header field is passed as the HTTP_USER_AGENT parameter. Besides HTTP request header fields, arbitrary parameters can be passed using the fastcgi_param directive.

Built-in Variables#

The http_fastcgi module supports built-in variables that can be used to set parameters using the fastcgi_param directive:

`$fastcgi_path_info`#

The value of the second capture group set by the fastcgi_split_path_info directive. This variable can be used to set the PATH_INFO parameter.

`$fastcgi_script_name`#

Request URI or, if a URI ends with a slash, request URI with an index file name configured by the fastcgi_index directive appended to it. This variable can be used to set the SCRIPT_FILENAME and PATH_TRANSLATED parameters that are used, in particular, to determine the script name in PHP. For example, for the /info/ request with the following directives

fastcgi_index index.php;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /home/www/scripts/php$fastcgi_script_name;

the SCRIPT_FILENAME parameter will be equal to /home/www/scripts/php/info/index.php.

When using the fastcgi_split_path_info directive, the $fastcgi_script_name variable equals the value of the first capture group set by this directive.

FastCGI#

Configuration Example#

Directives#

fastcgi_bind#

fastcgi_buffer_size#

fastcgi_buffering#

fastcgi_buffers#

fastcgi_busy_buffers_size#

fastcgi_cache#

fastcgi_cache_background_update#

fastcgi_cache_bypass#

fastcgi_cache_key#

fastcgi_cache_lock#

fastcgi_cache_lock_age#

fastcgi_cache_lock_timeout#

fastcgi_cache_max_range_offset#

fastcgi_cache_methods#

fastcgi_cache_min_uses#

fastcgi_cache_path#

fastcgi_cache_revalidate#

fastcgi_cache_use_stale#

fastcgi_cache_valid#

fastcgi_catch_stderr#

fastcgi_connect_timeout#

fastcgi_connection_drop#

fastcgi_force_ranges#

fastcgi_hide_header#

fastcgi_ignore_client_abort#

fastcgi_ignore_headers#

fastcgi_index#

fastcgi_intercept_errors#

fastcgi_keep_conn#

fastcgi_limit_rate#

fastcgi_max_temp_file_size#

fastcgi_next_upstream#

fastcgi_next_upstream_timeout#

fastcgi_next_upstream_tries#

fastcgi_no_cache#

fastcgi_param#

fastcgi_pass#

fastcgi_pass_header#

fastcgi_pass_request_body#

fastcgi_pass_request_headers#

fastcgi_read_timeout#

fastcgi_request_buffering#

fastcgi_send_lowat#

fastcgi_send_timeout#

fastcgi_socket_keepalive#

fastcgi_split_path_info#

fastcgi_store#

fastcgi_store_access#

fastcgi_temp_file_write_size#

fastcgi_temp_path#

Parameters Passed to a FastCGI Server#

Built-in Variables#

$fastcgi_path_info#

$fastcgi_script_name#

`$fastcgi_path_info`#

`$fastcgi_script_name`#